1966 GRAPES OF WRATH – AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE – DELANO
1966 GRAPES OF WRATH – AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE – DELANO
A five document mimeographed archive concerning the 1966 GRAPES OF WRATH strike by the AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE in Delano, California
1. May 26, 1966. AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (AWOC) WITH THE AFL-CIO. Paper is titled LET’S TALK ABOUT THE DELANO GRAPE STRIKE.
“As WE enter the tenth month of our dispute with the Delano grape growers, the once solid wall of opposition against us appears to be dissipating with the agreement by Schneley to negotiate and an indicated willingness by DiGiorgio to hold elections. BUT HOWEVER promising the future may seem, a fact we must remember is that we do not have a signed contract with any grower and conceivably the strike can continue into the forth coming harvest season and beyond.” This is followed by two pages of negotiations, determinations and offers. Ending with: “AS WE SEE it, this strike is every working man’s fight because every working man will benefit from it. Farm workers with money to spend buy things and as a result, jobs are created. Therefore, we believe every working man and woman should give us all possible support. THIS IS WHAT THE DELANO GRAPE STRIKE IS ABOUT!!!”
Interestingly enough on the back of page two is written: A logical extension (SFL) “Health insurance should cover one’s mate. If one’s mate should be male (assuming one is a male), the insurance should cover that mate. If a sexual motive is the basis for all human relationships, at what point should one be considered a mate? Assuming that love is possible between two adult humans regardless of gender, why should they not be allowed a license to live in a state of marriage?”
2 pages, vg cond.
2. Included is the May 28, 1966 notice 1966 GRAPES OF WRATH. “THE GROWERS HAVE ALWAYS LAUGHED AT US. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE ASKED FOR DRINKING WATER IN THE FIELDS. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE ASKED FOR CLEAN CAMPS IN WHICH TO LIVE. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE ASKED FOR HIGHER WAGES. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE ASKED TO BE TREATED AS HUMAN BEINGS. THEY LAUGHED AT US FOR WORKING LONG HOURS UNDER THE HOT SUN. THEY LAUGHED AT US AS THEY CARRIED THE MONEY WE EARNED FOR THEM TO THE BANK, THEY LAUGHED AT US AS THEY PASSED US ON THE ROAD IN THEIR BIG NEW SHINY CARS. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE WERE FORCED TO GO TO THE COUNTY HOSPITAL. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE HAD TO GO TO THE WELFARE DEPARTMENT FOR FOOD. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE ASKED THEM TO NEGOTIATE. THEY LAUGHED AT US WHEN WE SAID WE WOULD GO ON STRIKE.
BUT, THEY STOPPED LAUGHING AT US LAST SEPTEMBER 8TH.
1 page, vg cond.
3. May 28, 1966
AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE (AWOC) AFFILIATED WITH THE AFL-CIO.
WAR HAS BEEN DECLARED IN DELANO, CALIFORNIA, BY THE AFL-CIO.
THE AFL-CIO THROUGH ITS AGRICULTURAL WORKERS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE HAS DECLARED WAR IN DELANO AGAINST THE HUGH CORPORATION GRAPE GROWERS WHO REFUSED THE AFL-CIO REQUEST THAT THE GROWERS PAY WORKERS A DECENT LIVING WAGE OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES.
A STRIKE IS CALLED.
AWOC S-O-S COMMITTEE, AFL-CIO. DELANO, CALIFORNIA. 1 page. Vg cond.
4. Two pages titled S-O-S DELANO GRAPE STRIKE CALENDAR. Beginning with August 23 through May 16. The final entry is titled “ The Future – COMPLETE VICTORY FOR THE GRAPE STRIKERS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO FORCE GROWERS TO PAY 20TH CENTURY WAGES. – REMEMBER, UNTIL THEN, YOUR FULL MORAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT WILL BE NEEDED. ---THEN VICTORY WILL BE OURS!!!
Vg cond.
5. DELANO GRAPE STRIKE NEWS, JUNE 23, 1969.
“A silver lining is showing a faint glimmer through the dark clouds of the grape strike of the past four years.”…. “Spokesmen for the growers stated that they are moving in the Direction of negotiations with the union due to the pressure and cost which the grape boycott is bringing upon them. They admit that it is costing them more to market their grapes than it costs to produce them”…… “It further appears that if Reagan and Nixon have a thing to do with it, the poor will always be with us. There are many people in this country who depend upon the poor for personal security. How could charities flourish, how could middle class, affluent persons spend their time, if they had no poor to fawn over, to address appeals for, to appear at wine tasting benefits. No longer could the ladies show up at gatherings in the latest expensive wrap-around regurgitation by some swivel-hipped lad designer, and get half juiced on champagne cocktails. A whole way of life would disappear! The poor must go on! We know this. Pat Nixon knows this because she has toured the Ghettos and knows that we need more volunteers. God Bless our Christian America, and its’ benevolent Alms to the Poor.”
AGRICULTURAL LABOR SUPPORT COMMITTEE… Oakland, CA.
6. A copy of THE GRAPES. Communist Wrath In Delano by Gary Allen. 14 pgs. photos. This booklet first appeared in June of 1966 in AMERICAN OPINION. Expected tanning, overall in vg cond.
The Delano Grape Strike, a pivotal moment in American labor history, began in 1965 when Filipino farm-workers, members of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC), went on strike against Delano-area table and wine grape growers, demanding better wages and working conditions. This strike, which lasted until 1970, led to the formation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and a successful nationwide boycott of table grapes, resulting in the first union contracts for farm-workers. The UFW achieved a major victory when table grape growers signed their first union contracts, granting workers better pay, benefits and protections.
